Krasnaya Polyana, Russia (SportsNetwork.com) - Ted Ligety skidded out, sliding onto his left side. No, the American skier hadnt just blown another chance to take his rightful place as the Olympic giant slalom champion. He was celebrating. In clear conditions at the Rosa Khutor course, Ligety carved out a big lead with a masterful morning run Wednesday that all but guaranteed him the gold barring a big mistake in the afternoon. Teammate Bode Miller called it a "clutch performance." You might call it a moment eight years in the making. Ligety took a lead of .93 seconds into the second run, then held on to beat Frances Steve Missillier by .48 seconds for his second Olympic gold medal but first in the event hes dominated for years on the World Cup circuit. Ligety finished with a combined time of 2 minutes, 45.29 seconds, winning the first gold medal of the Sochi Olympics for the U.S. alpine skiing team. Alexis Pinturault earned the bronze behind his French teammate. Widely considered the best giant slalom skier of his generation, Ligety skied out of the race in 2006 and finished ninth in 2010. Until he filled the biggest hole in his resume on Wednesday, Ligetys greatest Olympic feat had been a surprising win in the mens combined as a 21-year-old in 2006. "Today was awesome. Theres not really any other way to put it," said Ligety. "This is something Ive been working for since I was a little kid. Being the favorite in alpine skiing is never easy, because its an event thats so far from being guaranteed and not an event thats super simple to win even if youre skiing the best in the world." Miller finished 2.53 seconds behind Ligety in 20th place in what could be the 36-year-olds final Olympic race. Miller became the oldest Olympic medalist in alpine skiing on Sunday when he tied for bronze in the Super-G for his sixth Olympic medal, including a silver in the giant slalom in 2002. "Its asking a bit much of my left knee still on those kinds of bumps. Right in the middle, theres a left-footed turn that just seems like crazy big bumps. I just look at it thinking maybe I could do it, but confidence-wise I dont feel comfortable dropping it in that way and its cost me both runs there. This is pretty aggressive stuff for the lower leg," noted Miller. Ligety is only the second American skier with two Olympic alpine gold medals after Andrea Mead Lawrence, who won both womens slalom events at the 1952 Oslo Games. He finished his first run in 1:21.08 and had the 14th-fastest time in his second run, 1:24.21 -- more than a second slower than Missillier but good enough. Ligety appeared relieved at the bottom of the hill, sliding into the snow and exhaling. Defending Olympic champion Carlo Janka of Switzerland finished in 13th place and Sochi downhill gold medalist Matthias Mayer of Austria ended sixth. Richie Sexson Jersey . 1 overall pick in the draft by the Houston Texans, is recovering from sports hernia surgery. Gerson Bautista Mariners Jersey . It was the most lopsided loss in Lakers history. Darren Collison had a team-high 24 points while starting at shooting guard for the injured Jamal Crawford. Chris Paul added 13 points and 11 assists for the Clippers, who apparently are trying to make up for decades of humiliation at the hands of the Lakers all in one season; theyve won the last two meetings by a combined 84 points. https://www.cheapmariners.com/2085k-tim-...y-mariners.html. The 41-year-old Northern Irishman has proved a perfect fit at Liverpool since taking over from Kenny Dalglish in the summer of 2012 and steered the team to an unexpected title challenge in the Premier League last season. Alex Rodriguez Mariners Jersey . He had even more fun Friday. Coming off a sensational rookie season, Spieth opened the new year by never coming close to bogey and making a 12-foot birdie putt on the last hole for a 7-under 66. Gerson Bautista Jersey . With a victory seemingly slipping away late in the third quarter, his quick scoring flurry helped Golden State regain control early in the fourth. TEMPE, Ariz. -- A severe concussion has ended John Abrahams season, and perhaps his career. Arizona placed the 15-year NFL veteran on injured reserve on Friday. "You feel bad for somebody who its probably the end of their line," coach Bruce Arians said. The 36-year-old outside linebacker sustained a concussion in the season opener against San Diego. He left the team briefly after that, reportedly contemplating retirement, before making an attempt to return this week. I think the concussion had a part to do with the depression and everything that went on last week," Arians said. "He was excited and ready to roll and hoping to get the OK from the doctor, then to get that kind of news was real hard." The extent of the injury became apparent in a concussion test Abraham took on Thursday. "The concussion protocol really did its job coming back finding a couple of problems," Arians said. "The doctors feel that he should shut it down for at least a year. Were glad we caught it now and not later." Asked what those problems were, the coach said he wasnt smart enough to know what "all those words" mean, "but its not good." Its the latest in a series of problems to hit the Cardinals. Quarterback Carson Palmer is out with a nerve injury in his shoulder. The team lost defensive tackle Darnell Dockett for the season with a knee injury in training camp. Then this week, backup running back Jonathan Dwyer was arrested on domestic violence charges. The Cardinals quickly placed Dwyer on the non-football illness list, ending his season. Abraham is the NFLs active career sacks leader with 133 1/2, ranking him ninth on the leagues all-time list. He had a team-high 11 1/2 sacks with the Cardinals last season and is in the second year of a two-year contract with Arizona. Abraham had four forced fumbles last season, giving him 48 for his career, tied with Jason Taylor forr most in NFL history.dddddddddddd Outside linebacker Lorenzo Alexander said the team will miss "just the football experience, a guy thats played in the league for 15 years and played at that high level." Arians said the team will miss Abrahams leadership, too, calling him "an extra coach." Tight end John Carlson, who has had his own concussion issues, noted how the NFLs attitude toward those injuries has changed. "Thats an example of the league being proactive and looking after a guys interests," Carlson said. "I appreciate that. Theres been such a shift in recent years in the league, starting at the top and thats a great thing that theyre looking after his long-term health." Abraham had a tumultuous early season with Arizona. He arrived late to training camp, later confirming that he had been undergoing rehabilitation for an alcohol issue. He was arrested in suburban Atlanta in June and accused of drunken driving. Abraham played six seasons with the New York Jets and seven with the Atlanta Falcons before signing with Arizona as a free agent. Originally, Abraham was to be only a pass-rush specialist with the Cardinals, but he moved into a full-time role when Arizona lost starting linebackers Sam Acho and Alexander to injury against New Orleans in the third game of last season. Abraham went on to be one of the top players on a defence that ranked sixth overall in the NFL, earning his fifth Pro Bowl appearance. Arians said Acho, Alexander and recent signee Thomas Keiser will rotate at Abrahams position. The Cardinals also re-signed punter Drew Butler because regular punter Dave Zastudil still is nursing a sore groin. Butler punted in both of Arizonas games but was cut Tuesday. Butler had a punt blocked in each of his two games with Arizona, but Arians said neither was the fault of the punter. The four punts he did get off averaged 54.5 yards per kick. ' ' '